Updates....

Wow! It's been 3 weeks since my last post.... I didn't realize so much time had passed. What have I been up to??? Being sick, mostly.... We had both a stomach flu (which I managed to avoid and Chey was only minimally affected) and a cold come through the house. I knew it was going to happen; both kids are in new schools this year, which means a whole new crop of germs to bring home to share with the rest of us.

We also been waiting for October 22, the date set for Eli's Tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. I've been trying (in my own way) to have Eli's tonsils removed since he was 2. He had more than seven bouts of tonsillitis between 15 months and 2 years and we were referred to an ENT who said that although his tonsils were abnormally large, he would "probably" grow into them......

He hasn't.

Now he only has one bout of tonsillitis per year, but they have caused other problems. My latest mission to have them removed began when I read that enlarged tonsils (and the related obstructive sleep apnea) can cause many ADHD-like symptoms and that by removing tonsils in children that have been diagnosed with ADHD and obstructive sleep apnea, the symptoms of ADHD can disappear (due to improved sleep). Now, in Eli's case I don't think this will happen, I truly believe that his ADHD is the garden variety genetic version, but..... if his symptoms can improve once he starts sleeping properly........ need I say more?

To further this cause, Eli had an overnight sleep study done this summer at Alberta Children's Hospital and it was determined that he did indeed have moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Brooks (his new ENT) then recommended that his tonsils and adenoids be removed. The most interesting part of this for me, was that Dr. Brooks felt that part of the reason that Eli is so small (he's eight and the size of a small 5-6yr old) was also probably due to the obstructive sleep apnea. Because Eli never really settles into a deep sleep, his growth hormone release is restricted. Not only that, but it takes an enormous amount of calories to snore and toss and turn and choke in a person's sleep, which means even the few calories he does eat, get expended during his sleep cycle........

The surgery was Thursday and I didn't know what to expect. I had my tonsils removed when I was around his age and it was no big deal, but I, apparently, am unusual because everyone else I talked to said that the healing was brutal...... Eli also tends to be...... excessive.... in his response to pain..... The crying and screaming children in Day Surgery certainly didn't help settle my concern.... But, Eli went into surgery like a champ and came out..... fine. He said he didn't have much pain and the worst part was that he couldn't blow his nose. That night was difficult, but not because he was in pain... because when Eli is very tired, he can no longer control his emotions and he HATES (and I cannot emphasize how much he dislikes) medicine.... he would rather be in pain or sick than take any form of medicine... which is not a choice after surgery... he HAD to take it and the nurses came in every 4 hours to enforce the rule..... This resulted in out of control hysterics on Eli's part and frustration on mine (and the nurses) part..... Each time, the nurses were unable to convince or force him to take his medicine and I had to step in. That and the constant beeping and children crying and uncomfortable chair to sleep in made for a very tired Mommy, but at least I could be with him...... that's all that was really important. Now that he's home, he's totally back to normal. He probably won't even have any pain meds today (he only had a dose of Tylenol yesterday morning and night and a small dose of codeine, which was my decision, not a result of him being in pain) unless he complains of a sore throat or ear.... It's only day 3..... I think it's even been easier for him that it was for me.....




On the knitting front, I am nearly finished my handspun scarf for Syd. IF I had brought more of the yarn to the hospital, I would be done, but I didn't realize that I knit that fast...... I had finished all of the yarn I brought by about 4pm on Thursday..... good thing I brought a super-secret project along with me...... I even nearly ran out of yarn for that!










My test knit is also progressing. I am struggling with the sleeves, something is not working out.... I might chart the whole sleeve to see what the issue is, but I'm not motivated today..... It will be very pretty when it's done though.....

Test knitting...

I've recently asked to be included in a test knit for Lily (lprajogo on Ravelry). I saw the request, liked the sweater, had some yarn for it and, more importantly, was between projects (kind of, we'll talk about that later) and voila!. This is the sweater . I am currently doing a gauge swatch (properly, meaning I'm actually going to do a full size swatch and wash and dry it before it's measured. I thought a test knit was due proper respect) in a lovely superwash merino from Indigo Moon. I hope it's the right yarn for the sweater because the colour is lovely. If not, I have a couple of other options in my stash.


I, also, have finally finished the cashmere gloves that I started at the beginning of summer. I shortened the cuff and the fingers and made each finger a bit skinnier for my little hands....








Still working (OK, the term "working" might be a bit strong... perhaps "thinking about working" would be more appropriate) on the Super Fibre Sampler.... I'm nearly finished with the first portion (only 2 left to spin and ply) then I can post about it....

Another FO

Lookie what I finished yesterday..... isn't it purdy??? Details of the modifications I did are on Ravelry



I'm still working on the Super Fiber Sampler.... I haven't been that motivated, truth be told... but I will finish the first half soon (I guess another week or so is still "soon", right?)

Weird...

My stat counter (the thing that sort of lets me know that people occasionally read my blog) must have had a coronary because it suddenly jumped from 1600-ish visits in the last year or so, to nearly 12,000.... in one day..... I'm thinking that 10,000 people did not read my blog yesterday..... which means my counter thingy is wrong, which bothers me..... 'cause I'm weird, that's why.....

I'm currently working on a blog post about my work with the raw fleece sampler, but I'm not going to post it until at least half of the samples are washed, prepped and spun...... I've finished two so far, so it's gonna be a bit of a wait......

Adventures in Fleece

I finally finished the spinning project that was holding up my fleece processing adventures. I purchased 8 oz (227g) of a lovely 70% Merino 30% Silk Top in "Mackenzie Tartan" from WC Mercantile's etsy store a few months ago, in order to make a scarf as a gift for someone special.







The yarn is wonderful. I ended up doing a 2ply from a center pull ball and got 5 skeins (should have been 4, but one broke) totaling around 400m of sport weight yarn/dk weight yarn. The yarn is more blue than the pictures and has little flecks of red, green, white and gray. I think I'll use it to make My So Called Scarf (Ravelry Link)







Once the yarn finished with a good wash and thwack, I immediately grabbed the Polwarth that I washed last week and started to card it. So far, so good..... I think...




I haven't only been spinning.... I also cast on for Vivian I plan to knit it without a hood or zipper and am using the suggested yarn in "Biscuit".

The Sheep are calling me....

Phew.... I finished Eli's BTSS 2009, on the second day of school. It turned out great!! He loves it and it looks cute on him. I haven't washed it yet, but I'm not worried about that.



I used almost all of the green I had and half of one skein of black. Sweater was knit top-down with a knit on kangaroo pocket and hood. The hood was interesting as I just kind of did it..... no pattern, just knit... although it did take two tries to get a result that I was happy with....

Now that the BTSS is finished, I can move on.....

I mentioned a while ago, that I ordered some fleece samples "in the grease" from The Spinning Loft. They arrived last week and have been bleating plaintively from the couch, begging me to forget my other projects, both spinning and knitting and start the adventure.......

Today, it began......... I had Chey pick the first sample..... She chose the Polworth, one of the fine wools in the box of 18. I washed it (as per the many directions I've read) and then set it out to dry... It's lovely! Here are some pictures of the process so far.... 3 washes and 3 rinses (although I think I only needed 2) and then re- organized the locks to dry.

Polworth in Package	Dirty Sheep (actually, it was very clean)
Bath Time	Clean & Fresh

I have some other spinning to finish, but I am hoping to start the actual combing or carding (haven't decided what to try first) and spinning of this in the next couple of days...

One thing at a time...

I've discovered, over the last year or so, my true knitterly self. I am now proud to say that "I" am a one-project-finish-that-project-then-start-the-next-project kind of gal. I've always been that way; with knitting and with life in general. Within the past year or so, however, I have tried to go beyond my natural state into the life of the multi-project knitter (although, at most I only had maybe 5 going at the same time). This foray outside of my comfort zone has not accomplished what, in my mind, is the purpose of knitting.... relaxation and stress control.... You see, I like control... firm control and I get very stressed out when I have too many knitting projects on needles because I can't finish any of them in the time that I have alloted for that particular project. This is the point when I can no longer enjoy my knitting and I begin to see it as a chore. I'm not sure exactly when or why I decided that a "real" knitter has 30 projects, many of which remain as WIPs (works in progress) or that get relegated to hibernation status, sometimes for years... perhaps it was due to my sudden immersion of into the greater knitting community at large when I joined the wonderful Ravelry. Ravelry touched a place in my knitting soul... It was a place to organize my projects and stash and needles and library of knitting related paper. It was also a place where single project knitters, like myself, seem less common than those knitters who thrive on multiple projects. Knitters who seem not to be bothered by the number of WIPs and hibernating projects on their project pages. Knitters who seemed to be proud of the number of their UFOs (unfinished objects). I felt then, that I must be missing something..... I must join these enlightened beings, break out of my self and perhaps find some creative piece of me that was missing.....

I did not find what I was looking for..... there was nothing missing. I am not a multi-project knitter and so, I proudly pronounce that I will continue to work one project at a time (OK.. two projects, I need a small travel one) to it's completion, or damnation before I start another... even IF the next project is begging to be started..... it will bloody well have to wait it's turn.